Police attempt to solve cold case murder by using life-size hologram of victim for first time ever
Topics: Artificial Intelligence, World News, Crime, Police, Technology, Adult Industry
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Dutch Police
Topics: Artificial Intelligence, World News, Crime, Police, Technology, Adult Industry
Police in the Netherlands are attempting to solve a cold case murder by using a life-size hologram of the victim for first time.
Cold cases are nothing new - with some mysterious crimes taking decades for officials to finally solve.
In Amsterdam, police are taking to drastic measures in a last-ditch effort to solve the case of a sex worker who was brutally murdered in 2009.
Tourists in the popular Dutch city will be greeted by a hologram of a sex worker in Amsterdam's infamous red light district.
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According to the BBC, the AI is dressed in faded denim hotpants, a leopard-print bra, while a noticeable tattoo sits across the hologram's stomach and chest.
Visitors who notice her in the red light district will see the hologram lean forward, before breathing on the glass, penning the word 'help'.
The AI model is said to represent Bernadette 'Betty' Szabo who was murdered in 2009 in Amsterdam just a few months after giving birth.
Anne Dreijer-Heemskerk, who is working on the cold case, is determined to provide justice for Betty and her family, and hoping the hologram in the red light district will help jog people's memories, as it's believed the perpetrator was a tourist.
"We created a hologram that symbolises [Betty’s] personality - it’s not a one-to-one likeness. We hope people will remember this case again when they see it," she told the BBC.
"The police did a thorough investigation, and there were of course CCTV cameras everywhere but it didn’t work out mainly because many people were reluctant to speak to us."
The 19-year-old, who was originally from Hungary, moved to Amsterdam when she was 18 - which came shortly before she fell pregnant.
On February 19, 2009, Betty was meant to be taking a shift break when two sex workers became concerned for the teenager as they noticed her usual music wasn't playing.
When they entered the brothel, the workers found Betty's body - with it later being discovered she had become a victim of a horrific knife attack.
Betty's killer has never been found despite an initial police investigation, with officials hoping the hologram will help people remember something about on that fatal February night.
Police think the attacker did come from abroad, though they need extra help from the public with their inquiries.
Those who come forward and provide information to help the police with their case will be offered a €30,000 ($32,000) reward.